U20 Men's Football Nationals: Delhi, Karnataka To Face-off In Title Clash

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground Narainpur: Delhi beat Mizoram 3-2 in the second semifinal to book a title clash against Karnataka in the inaugural Swami Vivekananda U20 Men’s National Football Championship at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground here on Monday. In the first semifinal of the day, Karnataka edged Manipur 1-0 to proceed to the title encounter in the tournament.

Delhi saw off a late surge by Mizoram in their semifinal to win 3-2 in a match that was primarily controlled by the former.

The side from the capital took the lead in the very first minute through Haodamlian Vaiphei, taking everyone by surprise. It took Mizoram some time to recover from the early goal, but they did so with a well-crafted equaliser in the 20th minute. C. Lalmuanzuala threaded a perfect aerial through ball to Lalthankima, who brought it down with a fine touch, rounded the keeper, and scored. Their joy was not to last too long, however, as Delhi regained the lead in the 33rd through Ramesh Chhetri.

Delhi began the second half with the intent of furthering their advantage, and they managed to double their lead in the 65th minute when Sankhil Darpol finished off a flowing move as he tapped in a low cross from the left.

Mizoram were not about to give in easily, though, and mounted an almighty effort in the last quarter of an hour, which brought them to within one goal of Delhi once again in the 78th minute, as Lalthankima capitalised on some defensive confusion to score his second of the match.

As things got frantic inside the Delhi penalty box towards the end of the game, Malswamzuala Tlangte saw his back-to-back efforts blocked by the opposition defence.

Meanwhile, Lalthankima found himself one-on-one with Delhi goalkeeper Karan Makkar, who pulled off a crucial save in injury time to guide his side to the final.